The Sydney Morning Herald sits down with the Dwarves (and kind of regrets it…)

The Sydney Morning Herald recently released an interview they
conducted in 2012 – in which they had a chance to sit down with several of our beloved Dwarf actors. But it turns out that they were in for a bit more than they anticipated. The interview (which they titled “Lesson One: Never Interview Dwarves) began with Jed Brophy, followed by Graham McTavish – and before long, dwarves were being switched in and out in an exchange the Herald called “amusing, informative, long (very long) and occasionally anarchic.”

The actors talked about their characters, how they became involved in the project, and some of their most memorable experiences on set – including one of the most talked about sequences in the new film The Desolation of Smaug.

Jed Brophy:

The barrels. Being in the barrels was the most fun. It was like being on a big rollercoaster ride for however long it took. And the fact that they built this amazing set out in Trentham that was like a river, they built this incredible set that we worked on. And the fact that we were in Pelorus River down in Nelson which is such a beautiful part of the country. And the fact that we got to do it. I mean, I don’t think any of us really thought that we’d be in the barrels doing it, but those barrels you could put people in and they could go over Niagara Falls and you’d still be safe.

Later in the interview, Aidan Turner and Dean O’Gorman spoke about Kili and Fili’s close bond, as well as Kili’s injury – which, at the time of the interview, took place at the end of film 1 (before the split into 3 films).

Dean O’Gorman:

Okay, well, we’ve talked briefly about– He’s the nephew to Thorin and then he will be the– Potentially, he’s like a young prince. He’s the elder brother of Kili, so he feels very responsible for him, and is very protective over his younger brother because they are both warriors, but to a certain extent, they’re both naïve, too, because they haven’t really been to war. Yeah, maybe they chopped a couple of orcs up or something but they haven’t been to war and witnessed what someone like Balin has. So, in the second film, they all are sort of naughty towards each other, with each other– That’s hard, eh? But I guess because Kili, because of the wound that he receives in the first film, he’s seen as not being fit to go on with the journey, and of course my loyalty ultimately lies with Kili, so we decide to stick with each other…

Some of the dwarves also took the opportunity to poke fun at their fellow cast members (who happened to not be around at the moment). As we’ve come to expect, Graham McTavish (along with Jed Brophy) didn’t miss a chance to reminisce about teasing Mark Hadlow on set.

Jed Brophy:

We say things like, “Is that the way you’re going to do it? That’s a brave choice.”

Graham McTavish:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. “Yeah, I don’t care what the director says, I think you’re great,” that kind of thing.

Jed Brophy:

Yeah, like, “I know that you’ve got a lot of notes, but that’s a good thing.”

Graham McTavish:

And actually, in fairness, Peter does it too.

To read the rest of this very entertaining interview, click here to go to the Sydney Morning Herald’s website.

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